South Africa fails Zimbabwe (again)

As you all know the SADC summit took place on Sunday, 5 heads of State attended with officials and Ministers representing those that could not attend. They deliberated for 12 hours and then issued a communiqué (see here) that basically endorsed the position adopted by Mr. Thabo Mbeki and then the SADC Troika. The most significant part of the whole exercise was that all 14 States supported the decisions reached, there were no dissenting views.

It was a minor political victory for Mr. Robert Mugabe, Mr. Mbeki and the Troika. It was a major failure of leadership.

The final decision that the two main parties should share control of the Ministry of Home Affairs and that the rest of the power sharing deal should stand as agreed by Mr. Mbeki, is neither rational nor workable. It ignores the political realities in Zimbabwe, reduces the chance of success for the new Government and could lead to the total collapse of the deal if the MDC decides to reject the package.

In a rerun of the Kenyan situation where regional leaders striving for compromise, imposed a solution on Kenya that is a hydra headed monster, barely capable of walking let alone running the country, the SADC States have taken the easy route out and in doing so have run the risk of creating a failed State in Zimbabwe and unleashing uncontrollable violence and destruction.

But take it or leave it, it's a done deal and an appeal to the AU or the UN - both themselves dysfunctional institutions, will change little. This is the end of the road for negotiations.

At this stage the future of Zimbabwe is totally in the hands of the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai (see statement). If we accept what has been decided and go into the new government on this basis, we will be committing ourselves to a near impossible task. It will be up to us to turn the economy around, establish conditions for free and fair elections in two years time and to try and heal the country, now more deeply divided than ever.

In this exercise neither Zanu PF nor the Mutambara group have anything to offer, except to try and not be spoilers. They bring nothing to the table except failure and corruption and unrepresentative participation in the institutions of the State. Not one of the Mutambara representatives in the new government will be elected while the great majority of the Zanu representatives hold their seats through intimidation and rigging.

The problems facing any new government are staggering - GDP has collapsed to less than half of what it was 10 years ago, the local currency is worthless and cannot be used for ordinary transactions any more, thousands are dying weekly from starvation, malnutrition and disease. 95% of all teachers in the public sector are not working, 3 million children are out of school and hospitals and clinics are either closed or non-functional. Food supplies have run out and everywhere people are desperately looking for whatever food is available.

The news today that the aid agencies feeding the majority of the people will run out of food in January and are cutting allocations by half in December to try and reach 4 million of the most affected people. The dilemma of the MDC is that if they walk away from the SADC deal they will leave ordinary Zimbabweans naked in a blizzard that will offer only death or flight.

The tragedy of this situation is that Mr Mugabe and Zanu PF do not give a damn - they want the deal to fail and think that they can in fact do 'very well' on what is left of the Zimbabwe economy. They do not worry in any sense about the impact of the final collapse of Zimbabwe on our neighbours. They are only concerned about one thing - how to hold onto their total control of the State and thereby protect their standard of living and personal security.

The tragedy of the SADC summit is that it is clear that after all these years and numerous declarations of commitment to democratic principles and to all the recognised human and political rights, when it comes to applying those lofty principles to a real time political crisis in their midst, they mean nothing.

But that is the reality of African politics at this stage in our history. Not pretty or easy, but the stark reality.

So what do we do? Our National Council will meet this week and receive a report from the leadership together with recommendations on the way forward. It will be the most difficult decision for the MDC since we were formed in 1999. Unlike our compatriots, we care, we care deeply for the plight of Zimbabweans - all of them affected by the collapse and crisis created by failed leadership, greed and corruption.

This time the consequences of rejection of a flawed deal for our people will be immediate and terrible. Morgan stated in Johannesburg that a million people face death from starvation if the SADC brokered deal collapses. He was not exaggerating.

Eddie Cross is the MP for Bulawayo South and the MDC's Policy Coordinator. This article first appeared on http://www.eddiecross.africanherd.com/ November 12 2008

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The final decision that the two main parties should share control of the Ministry of Home Affairs and that the rest of the power sharing deal should stand as agreed by Mr. Mbeki, is neither rational nor workable. It ignores the political realities in Zimbabwe, reduces the chance of success for the new Government and could lead to the total collapse of the deal if the MDC decides to reject the package."

Eddie Cross

 

Related links

Articles:

SADC calls on MDC and Zanu-PF to share home affairs »

Tsvangirai "shocked and saddened" at SADC resolution  »

Motlanthe's statement to the SADC summit »

SADC's responsibility to Zimbabwe »

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responses to this article

Can Anyone Be Blamed? In the light of SADC's latest failure, can anyone be indicted for Afro Pessimism? by Zim Exile on November 13 2008, 05:28 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

SADC and South Africa Everyone is missing the point here. These Presidents who were there made cold hard clinical decisions but the entire media misses the relevance. Here is what happened. The two key mobilisers for the outcome were Angola and DRC. . .more Politics is all about interests and in Africa it is all about individual (and party) interests, not national interests because political party interests take presidence over the populations they rule. A deal was struck where Mugabe's allies won the day. Kabila's troops are getting a hiding in the eastern DRC and it is notewothy that his troops are brutalising their own citizens. Kabila need Mugabe's armies to beat the rebels. Mugabe needs funds to get out of the mess he has created. Angola supports Mugabe as does Namibia and Malawi. As for South Africa, there have been rumours from time to time about certain people but these cannot be verified at this time. It is, however, significant that Mugabe was allowed to sit in on the SADC deliberations whilst the MDC factions were asked to leave the room. The plot thickens. A deal was struck to assist Kabila and the cost was to allow Mugabe a straight run to power. Mugabe will now form a government without Morgan Tsvangirai's party and he will again try destroy the MDC once and for all. . .less by David Pelen on November 13 2008, 07:49 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

is this failure Why does SADC exist? Is it that these Country Managers and I say managers as I do not see them as leaders as they are clearly unable to lead on this painful occurance in history. The SADC should be dissolved, a snapshot audit of where we were at the . .more beggining and present. If anything we have gone back. What does this show us as Africans, we blame colonism, we blame apartheid but we never take responsibility when it is ours to take. How many more people have to die, children starve, and personal ambitions of a nation be killed. SADC Managers do not expierience any of this as they sit in ivory towers paid by the same people who they abuse, fly from on country to another using the money that should be going to feeding the people as well as medicating them as disease seems to have become rife in Zimbabwe. Now let any other western country comment and they are not African and therefore dont understand African Problems, but surely when rebuilding and food Aid is required well then they are good enough. These split personalities of Management need to be checked. . .less by Anon on November 13 2008, 07:53 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

When will the Armed Struggle begin? The only thing consistant in Africa is its hiostory and dismal track record. After Liberation you have joy and some prosperity then the dictotorship, then the armed struggle on tribal and gang lines. 1st world democracy will never come back once the . .more imperialists leave. Zimbabwe is next for the armed struggle stage. This was predicated many years ago. It was just a matter of time. SADC is just an old boys "Dictators Club" to hold onto all they could steal and try escape prospecution from war crimes and other attrocities! The Chinese and French understand this process best and will scavenge the juicy bits by aiding the power struggle of the decade. These Aliances change as their needs change!. . .less by Africa's Track Record on November 13 2008, 08:17 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

when will you understand Africa is not interested in crazy notions of democracy and freedom except when taking over power from a benign European colonial power. Once in their hands power is used by Africans to corrupt totally all forms of public benefit. This is the . .more truth of Mr Mbeki's nonsensical waffle about African solutions to African problems. Well, here you have an African solution staring you in the face. And there is not one black face capable of tinging s faint shade of pink in sheer embarrasment at the thorough evil of what is happeneing. . .less by Plutarch on November 13 2008, 08:20 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Follow JZ wisdom; "force" solution on Zim!!! "Force" education on kids; "Force" discipline on young girls; "Force" morals on society; blah, blah, blah!!! by Mute Fool on November 13 2008, 08:58 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

SADC and South Africa David, you are correct. there is no way they would allow Tsvangirai in because he would not allowZimbabwe troops to go and fight wars in DRC. They had to keep Tsvangirai out. The DRC is Mugabe's and his Generals' life-blood. Angola is in it for the money . .more too but in Zimbabwe's and Angola's cases, it also keeps their military fighting fit. South Africa's military is in such a mess, it wouldn't stand a chance against either of these armies . .less by The truth will set Zimbabwe free on November 13 2008, 10:02 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

African solutions? Sick and tired of hearing that. I read somewhere today that SA Foreign Minister Dlamini Zuma has asked EU and US to help Zimbabwe? Africa had the chance to do that on Sunday and failed. Is this what they call african solutions to african problems? by Disgusted on November 13 2008, 10:16 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Ducking responsibility using collective decision making The problem with Africa is that no one takes personal responsibility. They pass it on to the collective. The ANC leaders are always saying they are just doing the will of the ANC collective". In other words, if it all goes pear shaped, I was just . .more following instructions. That is the purpose of the SADC, at the end of the day. It helps to disperse the blame so no one is accountable as countries like Zimbabwe crumble. Power means taking responsibility. Zimbabwe is the worst managed country in the world. Mugabe is responsible for that. If SADC cannot see that, then they too are some of the most useless leaders in the world. Some times I feel Africa does not deserve democracy. Just for a moment, let's speak the unspeakable - if Africa had remained colonised could it possibly have been worse off than it is today, would the people have been worse off - I think not. . .less by Sad Days on November 13 2008, 11:26 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

you are all wrong It is not Sa that has failed Zimbabwe. It is not SADC that has failed Zimbabwe. it is not even Mugabe that has failed Zimnbabwe. The answer lies in the African paradigm. It is clear that it is ordinary Zibabweans who have failed . .more Zimbabwe. Instead of accepting the African norm and allowing Mugabe to do whatever he wants as the freely elected democratic ruler the silly aboriginals have actually tried to vote him out . Dangerous move. Silly move Stupid move. That is not the collective african way. Ask Mbeki . .less by Cassandra on November 13 2008, 14:52 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

r.g. mugabe r.g. mugabe is a knob that wont come out of the a# end of africa. by jaxon browne on November 13 2008, 15:29 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

zimbabwe cassandra cassandra... by alexandra on November 13 2008, 15:42 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Let them be, they've got their democracy they asked for. Leave them. Let them sort out their own problems. Ian Smith was not good enough then, why should the west help these scoundrels? Long life to Mugabe! by Pierneef on November 13 2008, 16:26 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Looks like a JZ/Vavi/Mantashe ANC is no different to the Mbeki ANC. It could not care less for ANC p... There are no principles in Africa. All that matters is the money that "I" can get. Whether "my" financial advisor is honest or not. If "I" lie in my parliamentary declarations it is OK for "me" to be jailed for only a few months while being allowed to jog . .more around the local town and breach all alcohol restrictions while on bail. The ANC is just as corrupt as the ZANU-PF and look at the destruction Mugabe has brought upon his own people. Don't think it won't happen in South Africa. Vavi and Mantashe have already made statements that demonstrate they are determined to repeat the mistakes already made by others in history. . .less by semaarnet on November 13 2008, 21:21 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Actually...David Pelen's comment above is insightful and this should become a blog on its own. If indeed mugabe, mbeki, khabila and their angolan comrades have vested interests in DRC it is clear that they would want Zim's army to remain strong. I remember when Khabila sr died and . .more his Falcon Jet was grounded at Lanseria. It suddenly became available to certain senior Zim . .less by Dave on November 14 2008, 09:51 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

EDDIE ... ENOUGH ALREADY.... enough already guys, yes there is a failure of leadership from SADC but you of all people Eddie should know that you can't expect much fom them. The real problem with the situation in Zim is as simple as the current problem SA faces, leadership crisis and . .more the tendency to sculpture a movement or party around one person in this case both Mugabe and Tsvangirai. Case in point is Mugabe should have gone a long time ago period but he hasnt. MDC has repeatedly failed to show intelect or strategy in taking advantage of the situ zanu finds itself in. You guys have repeatedly failed to exploit and take advantage. As long as Mugabe heads up zanu he'll never concede anything to Tsvangirai and you know it so why not push up Biti or the others in the exec??? If Tsvangirai and MDC have the people at heart he should move aside for someone else and please start having the nuts to push out this senile old man and his cronies, they are begging to be kicked to the curb, someone step up and out zim and its people out of their misery. . .less by Iceman on November 14 2008, 11:01 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

r.g. mugabe r.g. mugabe is still a knob. by jaxon browne on November 14 2008, 15:41 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

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